Game Over
HOW NINTENDO CONQUERED THE WORLD
More American children recognize Super Mario, the hero of one of Nintendo’s video games, than Mickey Mouse. The Japanese company has come to earn more money than the big three computer giants or all Hollywood movie studios combined. Now Sheff tells of the Nintendo invasion–a tale of innovation and cutthroat tactics.
“Irresistible. . . almost as hypnotic as a successful video game.” – Christopher Lehmann–Haupt, The New York Times
“For business moguls who someday want to corner their markets, this book is a must–read… Game Over is about as readable as a business book can be..” –Houston Chronicle
“Game Over…is ultimately less absorbing than ‘Tetris,’ but not by much.” –Wall Street Journal
“A cross between Barbarians at the Gate and The Soul of the New Machine.” – Chicago Tribune
"A fascinating look at the Japanese way of doing business ... At times, Game Over reaches the pitch of a Cold War spy novel." - LA Daily News
“Writing with the playful pluck of Mario, the little protagonist of the Super Mario Bros. games, Sheff unfolds an engrossing tale.”
– People
“Mr. Sheff is comprehensive and instructive…The game might be over for this generation of technology, but the future of computer entertainment is still wide open for entrepreneurs as daring as Hiroshi Yamauchi was in the early 1980’s. Whoever those future billionaires are, they would do well to read this book.”– The New York Times Review of Books
“Sheff writes with an almost Dickensian tastiness.” – Times of London
“David Sheff's Game Over is a must read for anyone with an interest in business or marketing - the chapters about Alexei Pajitnov and the development of Tetris read like a James Clavell novel.” – The Guardian
“Finally, a book as provocative as its title, Game Over is a detailed, fascinating, and instructive case study of the management practices and corporate culture behind Nintendo’s extraordinary success. Read it and you’ll never again discuss this Japanese giant as a mere toymaker…. Game Over is a fine and worthwhile read. Don’t wait until your Game Boy burns out its batteries from too much Tetris playing to check it out.” – Fortune
“In his beguiling Game Over, David Sheff, a reporter who spent two years interviewing Nintendo executives in Japan, Europe and the United States, makes it dramatically clear why the company seems so promising. Game Over tells a remarkable series of stories…. And maybe that is its hidden message. Maybe that is what makes it, at its best, almost as hypnotic as a successful video game.” – New York Review of Books
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